Bunion pad and the like



Feb. 12, 1952 c F WFO D 2,585,629

BUNION PAD AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 25, 1949 IZZY/E171 Ur Q'Laud E Craqford E5 HLLHS Patented Feb. 12, 1952 --;2,5ss,e2,9 "BUNIQNTAD ANDjTHELIKE Gland --Crawford, =Pasadena, Calif assignor to- The-lsscholl Mg.-..Go.,..In% Chicag III -aacorv ,poration nI=New York" Ap ilication Novexfiher 25, 1949;SeriaYNo; 129327 .This invention "relates i'lZOi tfimprovements rinqia l-bunion pad and thelilike, and'snorez partieularly to :a "footcorrective :appl'rancenrsdevicezhighlyaldesirable for the treatment ofabnnionsctailorlsdaunions; :hallux :vaigus,=.exostosis: of :the "-lmetatars'ophalangeal joinig- -and similar :aillictions-pfrthe'hu- :man foot, althoughtherinventionsmay{have other uses and purposes as will be apparent torone skilled ,in the tart.

Itd-s an important object o-fithezinstantfiinven- .tion :to provide. a a treatment 1' device: r'fon *bunions and similar afflictions of the foot ,whilch isrmade in its entirety of extremely-1 lightweight and highly i-resil-ientmaterial-of ia charracter .exeeeding felt and similar -fabricw.lneushioning-mrep- ;l

erties.

l-Also anzobject of this :invention'is :the provision of afoot corrective-appliance'of the-wcharacterset :forthherein embodying a plura-l ityaof pieces-secured together in such manner-thatria space. is;

present between adjaeenta ieces-when theidevice is not. in :use; :therebyQadding 'lto' the -.-:resi lieney rand wcushioning 'gproperties of lfljtihe devicesasaia *in the provision of: a. treat: correctiue=-appliance lief the: character-set itorthhereinwherein the 5618- vice itself -is relatively. thin :so :as -to;easily'-lzandreadily .fit within ,-an-. article or ,feotwearc'and zeocupy little room in a shoe ortthe likenwhilelatrtheu same time by virtuevof the novel construction of thewdevice, its eushioning,,-propertiesare:

- mented -so that cit pretectslandmelievesthesafiicv tion loaf pressure to .a Mary high degree. snlso aieatureofwthe invention :residesdn :rth

provisionjof ::a foot:correctivewapplianceeofssthe character set forth; :herein which embodies: an outer shield, and an inner flange-liketmember secured [to theishield only-at its edge. portion; that. .=there :is a definl-tespaee abetivieen the-shield and the remainder of the sfiangeememberetosadd to -.the cushioning properties .of the :device? as as whole.

It is alsoan object of thisinvention :to-.-;pro-

vide a corrective appliance iorbnnions-and similar, afflictions, which .-de.vice,-. embodieslan. outer lcencavorconyex-v shield lof. resilient materi.a;1,land

santinner.flangeelement also oilresilientlmater ial :and secured .to .the innerliaceloiltheishield only 32.13 ,theedge portion/of thepflangaihe'iflangeshaving an ,ailiiction receiving opening. therein, and

readily transferring. pressure. from .;the afflicted tarearto ,adjacentlhealthy tissue.

.It :isa further robjectl of this invention to oro- 1 vvid'e .a ,correctivaappliance fior burdens and is'im'iiii)" findthereof. bunionor some similar afiliotion occurring "lli'the lan'affiictions; embodyingran-:outer-shield:of curvate-contour, with an innerjflangeelike-:element :securedzat its edge-only :to theiinner face of the shield-so that whenlthe deviceis not rin uset-here is otherwise a vspace loetween. :the flange element -:and the shield.

' Also an objectof $1115 invention is the ,provision of a foot: corrective appliance ffor :the treatment of bun-ions zand similartaill-ictions which presents va very' p'leas'ing appearance to .tthe eye -:of a pro- :spective user, and is iof such character as toinspire confidence in :the: prospective nserwrthatit taken in \conjunctionwith the: accompanying drawing, in *which-- Figure l is a fragmentar-y pictorial view rillustr ating the anterior 'portionaof a human foot; and showingith-e foot: equippedrwith a device embodying principles of the present invention,- the-device being in properrposition for-"the treatments-f a hunionj'ha'llux valgus, or aisimilar affliction;

Figure"? is an :exteriorface view of "the device J itself;

Figure 3 is anirite'rior rface View of the "device at Fig. '2 and Figure 4 is a central vertical sectional view "througfithe device taken substantially as indicatedhy the line IV-IV ofFig. *3, .lOOkiRg -:in the direction of the arrows.

As shown on the drawings: a The "illustrated embodiment of the instant "in- "vention consists 'inygeneral of a body portion, generally indicated by numeral 5, and an attaching element or band generallyindicated by-num- 'erali secured to the bodyportion '5 adjacent one When the device is applied over a region of the -metatarso-phalangeal joint at the J first metatarsal "head, the attaching band 6 :is

disposed over the great toe I of the foot, and the loody portion 'ofthe device extends rearwardly, overlying the a'fili'c'tion. ith "the attaching b and icircumscribing the 'great toe, nothing else is concavo-convex shield made up of a layer 8 of cushioning material, preferably foam latex. This layer of cushioning material is covered by a relatively thin latex sheet 9 having a smooth external surface. The latex sheet 9 may well be a thin rubber sheet of the character utilized for dental dams. cemented to the external face of the shield structure 8, or it may be vulcanized thereto if so desired, and closes the pores of the foam latex on the outer side. Obviously, the thin sheet 9 prevents any adherence to the stockings of a user when the device is in place on the foot, and permits the stocking to be freely and easily drawn onto the foo-t with the device in place.

The securing band 6 is formed in the same way and made of the same material as the concavo-convex shield 8, and includes an inner layer of foam latex l0, covered by a thin latex sheet I I. Thus this band is elastic and may readily be attached over the toe of the user, without any discomfort. If so desired, the band may be integral with the shield.

For ventilation purposes the shield is preferably provided with 'one or more apertures or openings I2 therethrough, and these openings may be disposed in any desired location.

A flange-like element 13, also preferably made of foam latex, and of substantially the same thickness as the portion 8 of the shield, is mounted inside the shield. In the preferred form of structure as seen clearly in Figs. 3 and 4, this flange-like member l3 possesses the same general oval contour as the shield itself and is provided with a central aperture or opening M which may satisfactorily be of oval contour. This aperture, of course, receives the affliction, or at least the most sensitive part of the aflliction. As seen best in Fig. 4, the flange-like element i3 is substantially flat in character, and is secured to the interior face of the shield only at the edge portion of the flange, as indicated at 15. This securement may be by way of cementitious material or otherwise. With securement being at the edge portion of the flange member only, there will be a definite space [6 between the flange and the shield, this space increasing inwardly from the line of securement.

Were the flange l3 secured over its entire face by cementitious material to the inner face of the shield, much of the resiliency and cushioning properties of the device as a whole would be lost, but with the space l6 present, the cushioning function of the device is greatly enhanced.

Added to this advantage. it will be noted that there is no considerable thickness of material directly over the afliiction at-any time during use of the device. The flange may be bent so that a greater area of it actually contacts the inside face of the layer 8 of the shield when the device I is applied to the foot of the user, but by virtue of the flange, any pressure from an article of footwear or the like is transferred from the affliction to the healthy tissue surrounding the afiiiction, the affliction or the most sensitive partof it extending through the opening M in the The thin sheet 9 is preferably 4, flange l3 and being further protected by the shield itself.

In the illustrated instance, the ventilation openings I2 in the shield are shown as communicating with the space 16 between the shield and the flange, but it will be imderstood that it is not necessary to so locate the openings.

Since the instant invention is made of foam rubber, the entire device is extremely light in weight, yet by virtue of its construction is capable of providing more than adequate cushioning power to elfectively transfer pressure from an affliction to surrounding healthy tissue. Further, the device presents an appearance that at once inspires confidence in the prospective user that the device will adequately perform its function and not be uncomfortable even when disposed in the wearers regular article of footwear, because of the relatively small space occupied by the device. It should also be noted that the device is long lasting, and may readily be laundered or otherwise cleansed whenever desired. In use the device is extremely simple, it being merely necessary to slip the elastic loop 6 over the toe, and the device will automatically seat itself properly over the affliction, with the more sensitive part of the afiliction received inside the opening of the flange l3.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the'novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a treatment pad for bunions and similar afflictions of the foot, a concave-convex shield of resilient material, and a free inwardly extending flange member of resilient material and of the general overall contour of said shield with its edge circumscribed by and secured to an interior part of said shield.

2. In a treatment pad for bunions and similar afilictions of the foot, a concavo-convex shield of resilient material, and a flange member of resilient material and of the general overall contour of said shield with its edge circumscribed by and secured to an interior part of said shield, said flange having an opening therein for the reception of the afliiction and being spaced from said shield except for said edge portion when the device is not in use.

3. In a treatment pad for bunions and similar aifiictions of the foot, a concavo-convex shield of resilient material, a flange member of resilient material and of the general overall contour of said shield with its edge circumscribed by and secured to an interior part of said shield, and said shield having ventilation openings therethrough.

4. In a treatment pad for bunions and similar afflictions of the foot, a concavo-convex shield of resilient material, a freely extending flange member of resilient material and of the general overall contour of said shield with its edge circumscribed by and secured to an interior part of said shield, and an elastic band attached to an end portion of said shield and extending substantially transversely thereto to embrace a toe of the user to hold the pad in place on the foot.

5. In a treatment pad for bunions and similar vaffiictions of the foot, a concavo-convex shield ofresilient material of general oval contour, a flange of similar contour but smaller in size and having a central opening secured at its edge only to the inside wall of said shield, the opening in said flange also being of generally oval contour,

and the space between said flange and said shield increasing inwardly from the attached flange edge. 0

6. In a treatment pad for bunions and similar afllictions of the foot, a concavo-convex shield of resilient .material of general oval contour, a flange of similar contour but smaller in size and having a central opening secured-at its edge only to the inside Wall of said shield, and said shield having ventilation openings therethrough communicating with the space between said flange and said shield.

7. In a treatment device for bunions and similar afilictions of the foot, a shield of foam latex, a thin sheet of latex doubled to the outer face of said shield, and a flange-like element also of foam latex secured along its edge only to the interior surface of said shield.

8. In a treatment device for bunions and similar afllictions of the foot, a shield of foam latex, a thin sheet of latex doubled to the outer face of said shield, a flange-like element also of foam latex secured along its edge only to the interior surface of said shield, and an attaching loop of the same doubled material as said shield attached to said shield adjacent one end thereof and extending substantially transversely to the shield.

9. In a treatment device for bunions and similar afilictions of the foot, an outer shield to overlie an affliction, and a flange-like inner element attached at its edge portion only to the interior of said shield and otherwise spaced from the shield when the device is not in use.

10. In a treatment device for bunions and similar afilictions of the foot, an outer shield to overlie an affliction, a flange-like inner element attached at its edge portion only to the interior of said shield and otherwise spaced from the shield when the device is not in use, said inner element having an opening therein to receive the affliction, and said shield having ventilation apertures therethrough.

11. In a treatment device for bunions and similar afflictions of the foot, an outer shield to overlie an aflliction, and a substantially flat cushioning member attached edgewise to the inner face of said shield.

' CLAUD F. CRAWFORD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 876,022 Schiifhouer Jan. 7, 1908 1,001,161 Packard Aug. 22, 1911 2,134,831 Moon Nov. 1, 1938 2,190,016 Day et al Feb. 13, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 397,700 Great Britain Aug. 31, 1933 

